Insight to address our current challenges
AM Psalm 55 • PM Psalm 138, 139:1-17(18-23)
1 Kings 18:41-19:8 • Phil. 3:17-4:7 • Matt. 3:13-17
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane was crashed by passenger resistance into a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism and defined the presidency of George W. Bush.
For me, and many of you, 9/11 was a time of disbelief, grief and pain. Some asked, “How could God allow this to happen?” Our readings today give us insight in how to move forward 20 years later amid the new crop of challenges.
Today the pain and grief of this 20th anniversary of 9/11 is repeated in the resurgence of Delta Covid. We face illness, death and grief amid bickering and fighting about masks and vaccines. Some are forgetting the commandment to love their neighbors as themselves. David’s prayer is a timely reminder to us to let go and let God.
Psalm 55 is King David’s prayer he implores God to favor him in a time of pain and grief. He lists the great wickedness and treachery of his enemies. He is sure that God would appear in due time for him. David prays. “But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in You.”
David, like many of us, was weary of the treachery and ingratitude of men. He wanted to escape to hide in the desert from the fury and fickleness of his people. He aimed not at victory, but rest; in a barren wilderness, so that he might be quiet. We can emulate his lead by trusting that God will appear in due time when we pray, believe and quietly wait.
Our 1 Kings reading reinforces David’s prayer and offers another way forward. The reading asks us to pause and consider these less well-known verses in Elijah’s story and acknowledge their relevance for today. We learn that silence, “the still small voice,” can bring peace.
Elijah calls down fire from heaven to demonstrate God’s power over Baal. Then, he encounters God on Mount Horeb. There, God is not in an earthquake, wind or fire, but in the sound of silence.
In his letter to the Philippians, we read Paul cautioning his followers to not imitate false teachers (“they are the enemies of the cross of Christ”) who value external ritual practices. Rather, he wants them to imitate him in throwing off any external marker to single-mindedly pursue understanding Christ’s suffering and the power of his resurrection.
Paul challenges his followers, “Be careful about nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
In our readings there is relevant advice on ways to address the multiple challenges today impacting our lives and environment – be silent, trust in God and let go to let God.
Written by Walt Eilers
Walt Eilers is a lifelong Episcopalian who struggled to make sense of the world today. He has learned that our situation is not the only time the world has been challenged and that there is a solution if we follow our teachings.